Stove as well as a method and a device for manufacturing and mounting fire-places

ABSTRACT

In a method for manufacture and mounting of fire-places, e.g. stoves, a lower and an upper half of the fire-place are manufactured separately and transported to the mounting place. The lower half is positioned and subsequently the upper half is lifted by means of a wheel-supported lifting frame, adjusted into its correct position and fastened by means of mortar to said lower half, whereupon connection to a smoke flue and a chimney is made. A device for mounting fire-places, e.g. stoves, comprises a wheel-supported lifting frame having a unit for lifting prefabricated fire-place halves to which lifting means are attached. The frame has such dimensions that lifting a distance corresponding at least to the height of said lower fire-place half is possible.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing and mountingfire-places, e.g. stoves, a device for mounting such fire-places as wellas a stove.

Fire-places, e.g. masonry stoves, have been used for a long time.

Stoves are thus known since the eighteenth century and are veryefficient sources of heat.

Since a stove is built in a comparatively complicated manner, it is verylaborious to build up a stove of bricks or another suitable stonematerial in the conventional way, an advanced craftmanship being alsoneeded in order to achieve a satisfactory result. Consequently, stovesare nowadays expensive.

This has resulted in efforts to build stoves in a more simple way andmanufacture them from prefabricated larger blocks. Such a stoveconstruction is described in Swedish patent No. 8102543-9.

The object of the present invention is to further simplify themanufacture and mounting of masonry fire-places in general, particularlystoves, in order to be able to install it without the expert knowledgeof a stove constructor.

Thus, according to the invention a fire-place is manufactured in twohalves in a factory, preferably from blocks according to e.g. theSwedish patent cited above, and subsequently the fire-place halves aretransported to the place where they are to be mounted and installed.Since each fire-place half e.g. in the case of stove-halves typicallyweighs 800-1000 kg, one has so far considered it as impossible to carrysuch heavy units into a residence and to mount one of the units on topof the other. The present invention suggests a surprisingly simplesolution to this problem, which so far has been considered insoluble.

By the present invention a plurality of very important advantages areachieved in this way. Thus, the manufacture of the fire-place can bedone under better control, the manufacture as well as the installationwill be simpler and less expensive, and a stove constructor's expertknowledge is not required, which is a very important advantage since theshortage of stove constructors is flagrant.

The invention accordingly involves a complete novel concept in thepresent technical field.

The device according to the present invention thus comprises a liftingframe on wheels, by means of which frame the upper fire-place half islifted and adjusted on top of the lower fire-place half when mountingthe fire-place. This operation has, as mentioned, so far not beenconsidered feasible to accomplish in residences, since when transportingsuch heavy plants trucks of various types have been used, which can notperform such a lifting indoors. Also, the device according to theinvention can, during the transport, be used for lifting the fire-placehalves from one level to another, e.g. from the ground up on a bridge afew fast steps above the ground.

In accordance with another advantageous embodiment of the invention eachfire-place half is provided with lifting means including a metal frame,which is attached around the outer edges of the fireplace half and inwhich the lifting frame is intended to engage. This metal frame caninclude iron profiles at the top face and the bottom face of thefire-place half along the outer edges as well as bars extending from thetop face to the bottom face of the fire-place half at the corners of thefire-place half, which bars are threaded in order to attach the profilesof the top face and the bottom face to each other by means of screwing.In this way the strength of the fire-place half is improved too, whichmay be of importance for reducing the risk of damages during thetransport.

In embodiments, in which the outer surfaces of the fireplace areintended to be directly painted, said bars extend in holes through thecorner regions of the fire-place halves inside the outer surfaces. Saidholes are preferably somewhat larger than the diameter of the bars suchthat the bars can move through the holes e.g. during temperaturefluctuations without producing stresses.

According to another aspect of the invention an insert to produce hotwater, is placed inside a stove, in its central flue at its rear wall,above its fire-place. Said insert presents an inlet and an outlet, whichare designed to let water in and out respectively and connected to pipelines, which extend through the wall of the stove. In this way it ispossible to connect said insert to the hot-water system of the house inorder to heat the house itself as well as e.g. its tap water. In thisway the stove will function as a central heater and the overallefficiency of the combustion in the stove will be even better.

The invention will now be explained in more detail by means of thefollowing description of selected exemplifying embodiments withreference to the attached drawings, on which:

FIG. 1 shows a stove according to the invention, in a longitudinalsection;

FIG. 2 shows a section along the plane B--B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a lower stove-half, which is provided withlifting means according to the invention as well as the lifting memberused in the invention;

FIG. 4 is a lateral view of an embodiment of the device according to theinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of the device in FIG. 4.

FIG. 1 shows in a longitudinal section a stove having a fire-place 10and a hot air cassette 11 with a suction fan 12 connected to saidcassette in the stove base 13. The upper portion of the stove isconnected to a smoke flue 1. This portion of the tiled stove alsoincludes a damper 2 and a soot door 3.

FIG. 2 shows in cross-section the various flues 14,15,17 and 19 in thestove for directing the fluegas in upward and downward directionsrespectively in the stove.

According to the invention the stove is manufactured by prefabricatingthe lower and the upper stove-halves, preferably built by blocks, as hasbeen mentioned above, the lower stove-half preferably extends to andincludes the course which forms the shelf 16, see FIG. 1. The upperstove-half preferably extends to the course for connection to the smokeflue 1.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the lower stove-half, which thus is madeof blocks. This stove-half is provided with lifting means in the form ofa metal frame, which is attached around to the outer edges of thestove-half and in which a lifting member is adapted to engage to liftthe stove-half to its position in connection with its mounting andinstallation. This metal frame, which is applied in connection with themanufacture of the stove-half, comprises iron profiles 18,19,20,21,22and 24, which are arranged in a square at the upper and the lower facesof the stove-half along the outer edges. At the corners of thestove-half vertical bars 26,28,30 and 32 extend between the profiles atthe upper and lower faces. Said bars are threaded at their ends 23,25,27and 29 for connecting the profiles at the two faces of the stove-half byscrewing. In this embodiment the profiles at the lower face are formedof T-iron. Alternatively the profiles at the lower face can be replacedby a continuous bottom plate, preferably of metal.

In embodiments intended to be directly painted on the outer side saidbars extend through holes made in the corner regions of the blocks,inside the outer faces of the blocks. Said holes are then somewhatlarger than the diameter of the bars, such that the bars are movable inthe holes without producing stresses.

The metal frame shown in FIG. 3 also improves the strength of the stove,the risk of damages in connection with the transport in this way beingdecreased.

When the stove-half is to be lifted, the yoke shown in FIG. 3 is securedby screwing to the upper face of the stove-half. The lifting yoke issubstantially H-shaped and it is secured by screwing with stems 34,36 ofthe H-shape extending along two opposite edges of the stove-half, i.e.stem 36 is secured above profile 18 and stem 34 above profile 22.Between the stems 34 and 36 a transversal web extends in the form of twoparallel separated girders 37,38 provided with a transversal pin 40 inthe middle of said web, for hooking a lifting cable 41.

In order to lift the stove-halves in connection with their mounting andinstallation the device shown in FIG. 4 and 5 is used. It mainlycomprises a substantially U-shaped base having such dimensions that astove-half, which is schematically indicated by 42 in FIG. 5, can beplaced inside the U-shape with legs 44,46 of the U-shape disposed oneach side of the stove-half. The base is supported by two freelyrotatable castor wheels 48,50 at the free ends of the legs 44,46 of theU-shape as well as a third freely rotatable castor wheel 52 at thecenter of web 54 of the U-shaped base, which web connects said legs.

On the legs 44,46 of the base a vertical lifting portal is disposed,which comprises two posts 56,58, which are connected by a transversalgirder 66 at the upper end.

From the web 54 of the U-shape a frame means 60 extends upwardly to theupper portion of the lifting frame, where it by means of lateral pieces62,64 is connected to the posts 56,58 of the lifting portal. The lateralpieces 62,64 are mutually connected by transversal girders 66,68 and 70.The frame means 60 comprises two parallel girders 72,74.

On the frame means 60 a manual hoist is disposed, schematically shown at63 in FIG. 4 from which a cable runs via rollers 76 and 78 disposed atthe upper portion of the lifting frame. From the roller 78 the cable end41, which is provided with a suitable lifting hook 43, runs downwardlyto be hooked on the lifting pin 40 of the lifting yoke, mounted on thestove-half to be lifted (see FIG. 3) and by means of which thestove-half can be lifted by the manual hoist, provided with a lock.

The lifting frame preferably can be adjusted in a vertical direction,the frame means and the posts of the hoisting portal beingtelescopically displaceable inside each other with possibility to belocked in various positions. In this way an adjustment to differentceiling heights and different stove-sizes is possible in a convenientmanner. The lifting frame preferably also is foldable to facilitate thetransport from one mounting place to another and to facilitate thedisplacement of the frame through the door of an apartment room. Thetransport of the stove-halves in this connection preferably isaccomplished by means of a small truck.

The manufacture and the installation of a stove according to the presentinvention are carried out in the following manner.

The stove is prefabricated in two halves in a factory, theprefabrication possibly being complete, i.e. the stove-halves areprovided with tiles or other coating or painting. Subsequently thestove-halves are transported to the place where the stove is to bemounted and installed. The lifting yoke is mounted on the lowerstove-half and by means of the device according to the invention thelower stove-half is lifted and fitted into its correct position bydisplacing the wheel-supported lifting frame to the desired position. Asthe wheels can be freely turned, the lifting frame can be displaced inany desired direction and thus the stove-half can be adjusted to anydesired position. The wheels can preferably be locked against rotationas well as turning during the lifting operation itself.

When the lower stove-half has been positioned to its correct position,the lifting yoke is unscrewed and the upper stove-half is provided withthe lifting yoke, whereupon this stove-half is lifted by means of thedevice according to the invention with said device positioned beside thelower stove-half such that the upper stove-half will be at a distanceabove the lower stove-half. Subsequently the device carrying the upperstove-half, is rolled to such a position, that said upper stove-half isin the correct position above the lower stove-half. A suitable mortar isapplied to the surfaces of the lower and the upper stove-halves, whichface each other, and thereafter the upper stove-half is lowered to itsdefinitive position on the lower stove-half. Subsequently the liftingyoke is removed from the upper stove-half, the device is removed and thestove is connected to the smoke flue.

Because of the heavy load, which shall be lifted with the deviceaccording to the invention, the lifting device preferably is placed one.g. a rigid plate, if the installation takes place in a room havingeasily damaged floors, to distribute the pressure of the wheels of thedevice in this way and consequently avoid damages to the floor.

Although the invention in the preceding has been described in connectionwith the application to a stove, it is applicable to (masonry)fire-places in general. Besides, the device according to the inventioncan also be used for transport and installation of other heavy items ine.g. rooms.

In order to increase the efficiency of stoves an insert 4 for heatingwater can be disposed inside the stove in its central flue 80 at itsrear wall 82 above fire-place 10, as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thisinsert preferably comprises a substantially rectangular case having aninlet 5 and an outlet 6 for water fed into it and water leaving itrespectively. By means of the inlet and outlet 5,6 said insert 4 isconnected to the hot water system of a house and by means of thecirculation pump of the system the water will be circulated through saidinsert. Heat produced when combustion takes place in the stove will thenbe utilized also for hot water heating, e.g. for heating and tappingpurposes.

As shown particularly in FIG. 2, the insert is mounted at a certaindistance from the rear stove wall 82.

What is claimed:
 1. A masonry fire-place, e.g. a stove, comprising atleast two prefabricated halves, wherein each fire-place half has a metalframe around its outer edges, said metal frame comprising bars extendingbetween upper and lower faces of each fire-place half, which bars areprovided with threaded upper ends projecting above an upper side of eachfire-place half to enable mounting of a lifting yoke for lifting eachfire-place half for transport and installation.
 2. The fire-placeaccording to claim 1, wherein said metal frame includes iron profiles,which are arranged in a rectangle at the upper and the lower faces ofeach fire-place half along its outer edges as well as at its corners,said bars being threaded to connect said profiles of said upper and saidlower faces to each other by means of screwing.
 3. The fire-placeaccording to claim 1, wherein said metal frame includes a bottom plate,on which said fire-place half is supported and from which the threadedbars extend at the corners of said fire-place half to iron profiles,disposed at the upper face of said fire-place half along its outer edgesto connect these to said bottom plate by means of screwing.
 4. A methodfor mounting a masonry fire-place according to claim 1, said fire-placehalves being transported to a place to be installed, wherein a liftingyoke is mounted to the metal frame at the upper face of a lowerfire-place half, whereupon the lower fire-place half is lifted by alifting frame, engaging the lifting yoke, and is positioned into itsproper position and lowered to rest on its foundation, said lifting yokesubsequently being moved from the lower fire-place half to the metalframe at the upper face of an upper fire-place half, which is lifted bythe lifting frame to a level a certain distance above the lowerfire-place half and is displaced into a position above the lowerfire-place half whereupon mortar is applied on opposing surfaces of thelower and upper fire-place halves and the upper fire-place half islowered onto the lower fire-place half, and the lifting yoke isdemounted and the fire-place connected to a smoke flue.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein said fire-place halves are adjusted intoposition by displacing the lifting frame.
 6. A lifting yoke for mountinga masonry fire-place, e.g. a stove, said fire-place being prefabricatedin at least two halves with a metal frame around its outer edges, whichfire-place halves are transported to a place to be installed whereinsaid lifting yoke is mainly H-shaped, said yoke being attached to saidmetal frame with stems of said H-shaped extending along two oppositeedges of said fire-place half, and in that a transversal web, whichconnects said stems, is provided with means in which a lifting force isintended to be applied.
 7. The lifting yoke according to claim 6,wherein said stems are secured by screws on upper end of bars extendingbetween upper and lower faces of each fire-place half.
 8. The fire-placeof claim 1 wherein a lifting yoke is attached to an upper face of saidmetal frame, in which a yoke lifting cable is hooked.
 9. A masonryfire-place, e.g. a stove, comprising at least two prefabricated halvesand being painted on an outer side, wherein each fire-place half has ametal frame around outer edges of upper and lower faces and barsextending between the upper and lower faces of each fire-place halfthrough holes, which are made in corner regions of each fire-place halfinside its outer faces, which bars are provided with threaded upper endsprojecting above the upper face of each fire-place half to enablemounting of a lifting yoke for lifting each fire-place half fortransport and installation.
 10. The fire-place according to claim 9,wherein said metal frame includes iron profiles, which are arranged in arectangle at the upper and the lower faces of each fire-place half alongits outer edges, said bars being threaded to connect said profiles ofsaid upper and said lower faces to each other by means of screwing. 11.The fire-place according to claim 9, wherein said metal frame includes abottom plate, on which said fire-place half is supported and from whichsaid bars extend to iron profiles, disposed at the upper face of eachfire-place half along the outer edges to connect the outer edges to saidbottom plate by means of screwing.